Shattered Wings
by Eternal Headache
Summary: Alternate version to the Teen Titans ep the apprentice. That damned ep had so much potential it drove me nuts! COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Teen Titans and all associated with them are property of, who else, DC Comics

Rating: I'll say around pg 13 or 14

Notes: I am aware of another fic of the same title, but as I wrote this some time ago before I stumbled across it, please don't hold the title against me. As mentioned, I wrote this some time back but never posted it anywhere until recently, where it got a rather good response so I decided I would share here too. Enjoy!

Synopsis: Alternate version to the Teen Titans ep "the apprentice." That damned ep had so much potential it drove me nuts!

Shattered Wings

PART 1

He watched them searching for him, knowing they would never find him. He was too good at keeping his presence concealed. With his background, he had to be. As he watched them, the now too familiar feeling of resentment began to overtake him. It had been weeks, why hadn't they figured it out yet? Hadn't his detective skills rubbed off on any of them? Or did they think so little of him that they actually believed he would betray them for no good reason?

The soft click in his ear signaled the opening of the communications line and that voice he despised so much crooned, "Time to come home, Robin. Unless you wish to continue engaging your former friends..."

'Fuck you,' Robin thought even as he said out loud, "I'm on my way."

Tossing them one last look, he turned and disappeared into the darkness, basking in the freedom he felt running across the rooftops. The only freedom he had left these days since Slade had so skillfully trapped him.

Batman had been right. All those years he hadn't understood his mentor...his father's paranoia until now. Friends were a dangerous thing to have. More so if you were their leader. That was why the Bat had refused full membership into the League. Why he insisted Superman was the League leader when even the Man of Steel himself knew the real deal. Batman refused to be put in a position where friends could be used against him. And now Robin knew why.

It was an intensely painful lesson and if he was to survive it, he would have to let go of the hope that they would figure it out. He would have to completely immerse himself in Slade's world and find the way out on his own.

As always, Slade was there to greet him when he returned. Always there, always watching...One day, Robin would catch him not watching and then...

"There is something different about you, Robin," Slade purred as Robin handed over the latest high tech gizmo the bastard had expressed desire for. "I wonder what it could be."

Robin stared straight ahead as Slade slowly circled him like a shark circles its prey just before ripping it to shreds. The soft laugh sent chills up his spine and his view of the wall changed to that of Slade's chest.

"You've finally realized your friends are a lost cause. They will never see why you betrayed them, just that you did. You are ready to give yourself to me completely now, are you not?"

He didn't want to answer that question but, if he were to ever free himself... "Yes," he answered quietly.

"Yes what?"

Robin's hand curled into a fist and he resisted the urge to lash out. "Yes...master," he growled.

He could hear the smile in Slade's voice as the monster breathed, "Good boy," reaching out and putting a hand on Robin's right shoulder.

The Boy Wonder hissed and jumped back, grabbing his right shoulder as pain raced through him. He had forgotten the Star Bolt that had slipped through his defenses and nailed him. The ache in his soul worsened and the ice gathering around his heart hardened a little more as he listened to Slade order another servant to escort him to the infirmary to care for his shoulder.

"I can't have my heir at less than one hundred percent," he said, bringing an image of giant snake into Robin's mind. A snake that would devour him whole if he allowed it. If he allowed it...

One week later:

"Ugh!" Robin hit the wall hard, more pain exploding through his already battered body as he dropped in a heap on the floor.

"They...were waiting for me," he gasped out as he listened to the approaching footsteps. "They knew I'd...I'd be there."

"And still you failed your mission and came back looking like you were hit by a bus!" Slade growled, dragging Robin to his feet and slamming him up against the wall. He leaned in, his face inches from Robin's and hissed, "I am very disappointed, Robin."

Robin was unable to stop the smirk that crossed his lips "Guess I...trained them a little too well, huh?"

The eye that was visible behind Slade's mask narrowed as he stared at him. Robin stared back, some of his defiance having survived the nearly two months he'd been in Slade's possession.

"Very funny," Slade said after a moment. "Perhaps I should solve this little problem now and eliminate them, hmm?"

"Heh," Robin snorted. "Go ahead. In fact, why don't you give the remote to me and I'll do it?"

That comment seemed to surprise Slade much to Robin's private pleasure. Slade studied him silently for a long moment before laughing softly. "I don't think you're ready for that quite yet. But I'll certainly consider it for a later time."

He released Robin and stepped back, allowing the boy to slip down to the floor. "Deal with your injuries. The very second you are able, you will begin a new training program I have been working on. You will not be defeated by them again."

Turning, Slade melted away into the darkness and two of his androids came forward, helping Robin to his feet and supporting him the infirmary where they began to work on his injuries. As they cared for him, he could help but thing about the encounter with his former friends earlier that night. How had they known he would be at that particular location? Slade had been leaking rumors of a number of intended targets but the one tonight had not been on the list. Perhaps Slade had set him up to test him. The bastard was fond of his damn tests.

He hissed as one of the droids was a little too rough on one of his injuries and, grabbing a pipe, smashed its head. "Watch it ya can opener!" he snapped.

Once the droids had finished patching him up, Robin was escorted back to his room where he found a glass of water and two top of the line pain killer waiting for him. Nothing but the best for Slade's little puppet...

END SCENE

He had only been at the new training program a few days when Slade surprised him with another mission. He hadn't expected to be sent out again so soon and curiosity forced him to voice his surprise.

"I've decided to give you an early chance to redeem yourself," Slade answered.

"You'll recall a few months ago you and the Titans managed to foil an attempt to claim a disk with vital technological information on it? The one that, I later learned, you were asked to keep safe in your Tower?"

Recognition passed over Robin's face and he nodded, a terrible feeling gripping his heart. He knew Slade was smiling under that mask...

"I want you to go to Titan Tower and retrieve it for me."

Robin's heart freed itself from that icy grip and jumped to his throat. "I..."

"Don't think you can handle the challenge?" Slade purred and, for some reason, a desire to please the man overtook Robin. Before he even realized it, he said, "I'll make you, proud, my master."

Slade leaned down and breathed in Robin's ear, "I certainly hope so. Now go. As always, I will monitor your progress from here."

Robin bowed his head, turned and ran off to get his supplies.

END SCENE

Starfire could not remember a time when things seemed so dark and hopeless. Robin's betrayal had been a worse blow than anything their enemies could possibly come up with. His loss would be something they would never get over. One that she would never get over.

Not for the first time and certainly not for the last, tears slipped down her cheeks as she wandered the silent Tower, unable to sleep, thinking of their last encounter with their former leader. How they had been forced to hurt him so badly in their efforts to stop him from steeling Slade's newest target. It killed her to see the pain he was in and know that she helped cause it.

A soft noise caught her attention and she stopped, glancing around to get her bearings and determine the source of the noise. She was near the evidence vault and the noise seemed to be coming from that direction. Cautiously, Starfire moved down the hallway, hovering so she would not make a sound and could listen easier. Another soft sound and she was able to determine that the evidence vault was, indeed, where it was coming from.

She hovered outside the door, staring at it and wondering if one of the others had been unable to sleep as well. Perhaps they were looking at memories and maybe whoever it was would like some company. Silently, she put in her codes and the door slid open, revealing the dimly lit vault filled with trophies and important things from past cases.

Not seeing anyone, she called out a soft, "Hello?" as she entered the room, the door sliding closed behind her. "Beast Boy? Raven? Cyborg? Who is...mmmph!"

Her questions were interrupted as someone grabbed her from behind, a gloved hand pressing firmly over her mouth. Before she could struggle, an all too familiar voice whispered in her ear, causing her to freeze, her eyes widening.

"It's me, Starfire."

Robin! Again, before she could start to struggle, his voice stopped her. "I need you to listen to me very carefully, Star. I don't want to hurt Cyborg if I don't have to."

Her eyes widened even more and darted about the room, searching for her large friend. "I'm going to let you go now," Robin whispered, bringing her focus back to him. "You're not going to do scream or do anything to alert attention, right?"

With the threat to Cyborg echoing in her mind, Starfire nodded quickly and just as quickly, she was released. She spun around, backing up a couple of feet as she came face to face with Robin. Robin held a finger to his lips and produced what looked like a tiny remote. "This is connected to a virus inside Cyborg," he whispered. "If I press the button, the virus will be released and will kill him in seconds."

Starfire gasped and paled, her heart pounding, her legs feeling like they were going to collapse any second now. As if knowing exactly what she was feeling, Robin gestured to a corner of the room, indicating he wanted her to go it. She did as she was told, sitting at Robin's instruction. He knelt down in front of her, his expression somehow managing to be deadly serious and comforting at the same time.

"I'm just here to collect something," he whispered. "I'll be gone in just a couple of minutes. Cyborg won't be hurt just as long as you stay very, very quiet for me, okay?"

She nodded quickly and he reached out, causing her to flinch but he did nothing more than gently touch her cheek before moving away and disappearing among the rows of things they had collected.

She couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't believe she was actually terrified of Robin! Of what he had actually threatened to do! And it was because of that threat that she could do nothing but sit in the corner as she had been told to do, shaking uncontrollably, hoping this was just some horrible nightmare that she would wake up from any second now.

In fact...she squeezed her eyes shut tightly and silently willed herself to wake up, repeating the mantra over and over in her mind, knowing that any second now, she would wake up in her bed and confirm that this wasn't happening...

"Starfire." Her eyes flew open and tears sprang to them when she found she was still in the evidence vault and Robin was once more kneeling in front of her. "I have what I came for," he whispered. "I'm leaving now. You're doing really well. Just stay here and don't make a sound, all right?"

She nodded, the tears slipping down her cheeks unnoticed. Robin started to reach out, stopped, then sighed and stood. "Goodbye Star," he whispered and then he was gone. Starfire never moved or made a sound for the rest of the night.

END SCENE

That was how Beast Boy found her the next morning. When she hadn't turned up at breakfast and didn't answer communications, he and Cyborg had gone looking for her, concerned. Out of the four of them, she had taken the Robin thing the hardest and neither felt the normally overly cheerful girl should be alone.

Beast Boy had been surprised when he'd entered the vault and found his friend sitting on the floor in the corner, dried tear stains on her cheeks. "Star?" he questioned, kneeling down in front of her. When she didn't answer, he reached out and touched her, questioning a little louder, "Starfire?"

She jumped, large green eyes focusing on him and it seemed to take her a minute to realize who he was. In that time, Beast Boy questioned, "You okay, Star? What are you doing in here? Have you been here all night?"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say for she suddenly burst into hysterics, threw herself into his arms and began babbling in Tamaranian. Beast Boy, while trying to calm his friend down, quickly summoned Cyborg and when he arrived, Starfire's hysterics worsened.

Taking her in his arms, Cyborg carried her to the kitchen where Raven met them and, together, the trio managed to calm Starfire down enough that she was able to tell them what had happened that had happened. Cyborg immediately ran a self diagnostic and a variety of other tests and, after a good four hours, announced that he was completely clean.

"He bluffed you, Star," he explained. "He preyed on your fears...knew that you wouldn't do anything to jeopardize me."

"How did he get in?" Beast Boy asked. "I thought you changed all the security?"

"I did," Cyborg replied, an angry gleam in his eye. "I don't know how he managed to do it, but he got past it. What the hell was he looking for anyway?"

"You remember that disk we kept out of Slade's hands a few months ago?" Raven replied and Cyborg crushed the tool he was holding. "Aww dammit!" Getting up, he stormed from the lab, leaving the remaining three to deal with their shock.

"I am...very confused," Starfire said after a couple of minutes.

"What's there to be confused about?" Raven replied, coldness in her voice. "Robin switched sides, pure and simple."

"Then why did he not hurt me?" Starfire questioned. "He had ample opportunity to hurt or kill me last night and yet..."

"Hey," Beast Boy answered, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." He started to say more but was interrupted by Cyborg's voice over the comm link. "Titans! Conference room, now!"

The trio exchanged glances, then quickly moved to obey the snapped order. Cyborg sat at the head of the table, a determined look on his face. "All right, guys," he said as they took their seats, "Last night's stunt...that was the last straw. The way I see it, we have only one resort left that doesn't involve someone getting killed."

One of his hands had been on the table, covering something. Now, he removed it, revealing what looked like a signal device. "Robin once told me, " he continued before any of them could ask what the device was for, "That if he ever got into trouble he couldn't get out of that there was one person on this Earth that he could trust to help him out of it. He also said that if anything were to ever happen to him, we should use this to contact that person. I think this situation warrants contacting him."

"So...who is this guy?" Beast Boy asked hesitantly.

"Batman. His father," Raven answered and Cyborg nodded.

"I think the Bat needs to know what's happened to his son." Gazing around the table, Cyborg found nothing but agreement in the faces of his friends. Nodding, he reached out and pushed the button.

"Dude," Beast Boy whispered, "He is going to be so pissed."

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

PART 2

It was two nights later when their sensors picked up an aircraft headed directly for them. In nervous anticipation, they headed for the roof of the Tower and watched as the infamous Batwing melted from the clouds and descended, landing gently on the roof. Cyborg stepped forward, watching as the cockpit opened and a dark shadow slipped out, making only a whisper of sound as it landed on the ground.

"Batman," the teen greeted, taking another step forward, aware of his nervous friends behind him.

The Batman stared at him for a few very long seconds before asking, "Where's Robin?"

Cyborg hesitated, then replied, "Well sir, maybe you'd better come inside. We have a lot to talk about." He could see the Bat's eyes narrow and wondered if he would force them to tell him what was going on right then and there but, after a full minute, he nodded and Cyborg immediately turned and led the way back inside, his friends darting ahead of him.

They went into the conference room, he and the Titans taking seats while the Bat instantly took up a spot in a shadowy corner. Without waiting to be asked again, Cyborg launched into the story of Slade and everything that had happened up until Starfire's late night encounter two nights earlier. Through the whole story, Batman didn't move so much as an inch and Beast Boy wondered if he was even breathing.

Though nothing at all seemed to change, Raven could easily sense the anger steadily making its way through the Dark Knight's mind. As Beast Boy had put it when Cyborg had pressed the button two nights earlier, the Bat was pissed.

"I didn't know what else to do. Then I remembered the signal device Robin gave me so...we called you," Cyborg finished.

It was a long time before Batman spoke, carefully absorbing everything he had been told. Finally, he asked, "Where is all the info Robin had on this Slade?"

"In his room," Cyborg answered, standing. "This way." He led the way to Robin's room in silence. Entering the access code, he stepped aside to allow Batman entrance. The door slid shut behind the detective and Cyborg stared at it for a few seconds, understanding suddenly where Robin had picked up his...blunt side from. Turning, he went to rejoin his friends and allow the Bat to work.

Batman gazed silently around his son's room, taking in all the various information on Slade plastered all over the walls and on the desk and table. Activating the lights, he began at the walls, working his way to the table and then the desk and the boy's computer. He studied every bit of information Robin had collected and read the journals the boy had been keeping. While reading about his experiment with Red X, a knock on the door interrupted him.

"Yes?" he called, turning to watch the door slide open and one of the girls,

Raven, he recalled, glided in with a tray of food.

"Thought you may want some breakfast," she stated, setting the tray down on the table. "It's morning," she explained, turning to look at him. "You've been working all night."

Turning his gaze to the clock, he was a little surprised to discover it was almost nine-thirty. He nodded his thanks to the girl, turning back to the computer.

There was a moment of silence and then Raven said, "You should eat and get some rest. Slade is a little easier to handle with a fresh mind."

Batman didn't answer and, after another few seconds Raven added, "I see where he gets his determination from. It's a good and bad trait at the same time."

Batman turned to stare at her and Raven stared back, unintimidated. "Robin was obsessed with Slade. He often went days without sleep. When it came to that monster, he was reckless. I suspect it was the obsession that helped Slade get to him."

Batman frowned. He was well aware of how persistent his son could be but not to the point where an enemy could trap him like this...seduce him. No, it was entrapment pure and simple. There was no way Robin would willingly join the other side. Not with him around. That left only two options. Turning his attention back to Raven, he asked, "Did you rule out mind control?"

Raven nodded. "His mind was his own."

Batman nodded, muttering, "Blackmail."

"Pardon?"

"Blackmail," he repeated. "Slade has something on him. Something that Robin felt gave him no choice but to join him."

"Blackmail him with what?" a new voice asked.

The pair turned their attention to one wall in time to see the green fly morph into Beast Boy. Raven shot him a look of annoyance for spying while Batman simply regarded him for a few seconds before saying, "There's only one thing he could possibly hold over Robin to gain his compliance."

Beast Boy stared in confusion while Raven's eyes filled with realization. "Us."

Batman nodded, suddenly recognizing the game that Robin had unknowingly been playing. It was a game he himself had been playing for years with the Joker. From everything the Titans had told him and from everything he had learned in Robin's files, the boy had not only been obsessed with Slade, but Slade had been obsessed with him. Slade had been after Robin the whole time. His son had been played and played well. The question was, what had Slade done or threatened to do to gain control over Robin?

Standing, Batman swept past the two teens and to the door. "Conference room. Now," he ordered.

Less than ten minutes later, with the group gathered together, Batman ordered them to tell him everything that had happened the night Robin disappeared. "Every detail you can remember, no matter how small."

The Titans looked at each other, then once more launched into the story. "I thought I had disabled it but it seemed to have backup power or something. It went off on us...hit us all point blank with some kind of laser but didn't actually hurt us. It was a dud."

Batman raised a hand to stop Cyborg and sat thoughtfully. After a moment, he turned his gaze on the half man and asked, "How long will it take you to perform full blood analysis on everyone?"

A surprised look crossed Cyborg's eye at the question. "On everyone? Two or three hours."

"Do it. Call me the second you have the results."

"What am I looking for?"

"You'll know when you see it."

Cyborg nodded and Batman left to the sounds of Beast Boy protesting having a needle stuck in him. He returned to Robin's room, ate the food Raven had brought him and then lay down to get some sleep, content in the knowledge that he was making progress.

He was awakened three and half hours later and summoned to the lab where a worried Cyborg said, "Looks like your hunch was right. There's something strange in our blood."

He pulled up the results on the display screen, showing hundreds of anomalies swimming around in the blood stream. "I ain't never seen anything like this before," the teen said. "They must be how Robin managed to do that painful glowing trick on us."

"So that's how Slade got him," Raven murmured. "He injected us with that stuff and told Robin if he didn't cooperate, he'd use it to kill us."

Batman moved to the computer and made a copy of the results. "Where are you going?" Beast Boy asked as the Dark Knight moved toward the door.

"To have this further analyzed," Batman replied. "I'll be back later. In the meantime, sit tight." It was an order they all knew they had best obey.

END SCENE

Robin felt surprisingly good. It had been five days since his mission to the Tower and since then, he had been fully immersed in Slade's training program. The program was both brutal and thrilling at the same time, pushing Robin to new levels in his fighting techniques. As it turned out, this was not without some help. The pain killers Robin had been taking to help with his injuries were not, Slade later revealed, normal pain killers. While they did, indeed, kill the pain, they were also responsible for his amazingly fast healing as well as his new found, sickening desire to please Slade at every turn.

A side effect, he quickly discovered, was that not only did they take away physical pain but emotional as well. His heart and soul were not aching like they had been. Not surprisingly, they were also very addictive which was just one more reason on Robin's long list to one day kill the bastard.

Currently, he was engaged with two dozen of Slade's androids plus several weapons firing at him from around the room. He was bleeding from several wounds, some quite heavily, but he refused to stop until every threat was eliminated. Even when Slade offered him the choice to stop, he refused and fought on fiercely. Finally, when every last threat had been overcome, he dropped to one knee, breathing hard and holding his right arm.

"Excellent, Robin," Slade purred in approval as he stepped out of the shadows. He knelt down in front of Robin, who's head was down and reached out, gently tipping his head up so Robin would look him in the eye. "You are badly wounded in places, I see. Why did you not stop when I gave you the option?"

"Because I wasn't finished. My mission was to destroy all the threats and at that time, it wasn't done. The only time I will ever abandon a mission is by your order. You gave me a choice, not an order, therefore, I continued."

It was easy to tell that Slade was smiling beneath his mask. "Excellent. You are doing me proud."

He produced two of those wonderful, cursed pills of his and offered them to him. Robin immediately snatched them and was certain that Slade's smile grew wider, the bastard. "Go get some rest, my child. I will have dinner brought to you."

As Slade disappeared back into the shadows, Robin forced himself to his feet and headed to the infirmary and then to his room. Once there, he took one of the pills and hide the second among a handful of others he had secreted away. He got the feeling that if Slade ever decided to punish him for something, it would be withholding his magic pills. He hated himself for his swiftly growing dependance on the drug but it kept the pain away...

With a soft groan, Robin sank down on the bed and slipped into a merciful, dreamless sleep.

END SCENE

It was another three days before Slade, satisfied with Robin's performance in training, sent him out into the field. This time, the target was a new stealth projector prototype from LexCorp that had caught Slade's eye. Part of him hoped he wouldn't run into the Titans while the other part screamed for the fight they would provide him. In the end, the latter part got its wish.

As he was emerging from the building, his prize tucked safely away, he sensed the ambush before it actually happened. As a result, he was several feet away from where he had been standing when Cyborg's sonic cannon struck.

"Missed me!" he called with a smirk, watching as they emerged from their hiding places. He was a little surprised when they didn't immediately attack like last time.

"We don't want to fight you, Robin!" Cyborg called and Robin raised a brow.

"Oh?" he questioned with a snort. "What would you rather do, have a tea party?"

"Robin please," Starfire pleaded, "We only wish to talk."

'Something's up,' Robin thought, eyes darting around the area in an attempt to spot the trap they had set for him. "Nothing to talk about!" he answered, turning his eyes back to them. "Slade?" he questioned in a whisper, knowing he was being monitored.

"As you said, Robin, there's nothing to talk about," came the answer and the silent order to attack. Robin nodded slightly and threw the flash pellets he had palmed, prompting cries of surprise from his opponents as he launched himself at them.

As they fought, he couldn't help but notice they didn't seem as determined as the last time, which once again had him wondering what kind of trap they had set and when it was going to be sprung. The sound of sirens caught his attention as the cops finally responded to the disturbance. Air support could be heard rapidly approaching as well. Playtime was over. He had what he came for, the mission was over. It was time to go.

He tossed an unconscious Beast Boy into Raven, knocking the pair back to where Cyborg was trying to recover from an earlier blow. He turned to make his exit and froze when he caught Starfire's eyes. There was such a remorseful look in their green depths that it was all he could do not to go to her. Forcing himself to turn away, he made his escape just before the helicopter search light lit up the roof.

When he was only a block from home, he stopped, unable to get that look of Starfire's out of his mind. Something had changed between their last encounter and tonight, but what? Had they discovered the nanomachines? No, knowing them they would have told him outright if that had been the case. They had to be up to something.

"Slade," he murmured, activating the communications line.

"Yes Robin, why have you stopped?"

"There's something funny going on. You picking up any trackers on me?"

There was a moment of silence and then Slade answered, "Negative. But just in case, brace yourself."

Robin barely had time to do so before a small, electrical current raced through his body. He grit his teeth and dropped to one knee, gasping when it stopped. "If there was anything there, that will have taken care of it," Slade said. "Come home now."

Robin took a few more seconds to recover, then got to his feet and continued on, arriving home five minutes later. He could tell Slade was smiling as he handed over the prototype and struggled against the elation he felt at having pleased his master. "You will be well rewarded for your performance tonight, Robin," he said, secreting the prize away somewhere and reaching for where Robin knew he kept those pills.

Slade paused, eyes moving over Robin from head to toe. "Hmm, only minor injuries tonight. I think one will suffice."

He tossed the tablet to him, Robin snatching it from the air and dropping it in a compartment for later. He then stood and waited for either more orders or a dismissal. Slade regarded him for a few seconds then said, "Your time is your own. Do as you wish."

Robin bowed his head, murmured, "Thank you, Master," then turned and left the room, heading for the roof, feeling the need for air and meditation.

END SCENE

When they had received the tip that a LexCorp building was being targeted for a heist, Batman knew it was an invitation, especially after discovering what the building contained. Obviously, Slade had something he wanted to show the Titans. He was close to coming up with something that would counteract the nanomachines but as nothing was certain, he had ordered the Titans not to reveal what they knew to Robin. He also told them that when they fought Robin, to make him suspicious...to make him think they had something planned. He would be concealed nearby, observing.

He watched Robin closely in the moments before the fight. He was putting on a good show, acting like he rather enjoyed being on the wrong side. He was probably being monitored. The Titans did a good job of making their wayward leader suspicious. Despite the fact he suspected a trap, however, he did not flee, which aroused Batman's curiosity. Robin was usually a lot more cautious than that.

When he attacked, it was fast and vicious. If he hadn't known it was his son he was watching, he never would have recognized him. The fact that the Titans weren't fighting like they normally would have seemed to anger the teen and made him fight with even more determination.

There was a pause in the battle when the approaching police caught the boy's attention. Obviously deciding it was time to go, he tossed an unconscious Beast Boy into Raven and turned to leave, stopping when he caught sight of Starfire. The pair stared at each other and Batman caught the very subtle changed in body language that made it obvious, at least to him, that whatever Robin saw in the girl's eyes was hurting him. Then he turned and made his escape, Batman giving him a short head start before following.

He followed until Robin stopped and looked back the way he had come. For a moment, Batman wondered if he'd been spotted until he heard the boy ask about tracking devices. Ah, he was worried that someone may have planted a tracker on him during the fight. Smart of him to consider that. He was startled when Robin was suddenly zapped with an electrical current, but knew the reason. That didn't stop the anger from coursing through him and adding one more grievance to the growing list he had against Slade.

Within a couple of minutes, Robin was on the move again and led Batman to what looked like some kind of factory. As Robin disappeared inside, Batman found his own way in, mindful of the security precautions, and followed the echo of voices to the large room Robin and Slade were in. Robin was down on one knee in front of the man Batman knew to be Slade, who was examining the prototype Robin had stolen with the air of a man who was very, very pleased.

"You will be well rewarded for your performance tonight, Robin," he said, tucking the device away and reaching into a compartment on his uniform.

Robin stood, a look of expectation on his face that Batman wondered about. The Villain studied Robin for a moment before saying, "Hmm, only minor injuries tonight. I think one will suffice."

He tossed something to Robin, who put it in his own compartment, then stood, watching Slade until the man dismissed him. "Your time is your own. Do as you wish."

Robin bowed his head and rage flooded Batman when he heard his son say, "Thank you, Master," before turning and leaving the room.

Batman watched Slade head for a different room, wanting nothing more than to swoop down and tear the bastard's throat out. Instead, he turned and made his way out, discovering Robin up on the roof, and forced himself to remain hidden.

As much as he wanted his son to know he was there...that he had not been abandoned, he couldn't risk Slade getting trigger happy and frying the kids.

'Hang on, son,' he thought. 'You won't be here much longer.' As he turned and disappeared into the night, he found he was really looking forward to showing Slade what it meant to mess with the son of the Bat.

END SCENE

The Titans were, to say the least, ecstatic when they learned that Batman had found where Slade and Robin were. They had all argued loudly with him about raiding the place immediately, not caring what Slade had done to them, only wanting to free Robin. He had finally scared them into submission with a look that even cowed Superman on occasion.

"We will move only when an acceptable solution to your condition has been reached. That is the final word, understood?"

The teens nodded mutely, each understanding the need for caution but not liking it just the same. Batman retreated to the training room where he proceeded to pound the stuffing out of anything he could get his hands on. He had been through some pretty bad situations before but this...this went beyond his worst nightmare. His son was in the hands of a lunatic and he had to wait to do anything about it. He couldn't imagine what Robin was going through, especially with the belief that his friends had abandoned him.

He had warned the boy about the potential hazards of open friendship. All it took was one maniac using them against you to destroy everything. Hence why he openly close to anyone in the League.

No, that did it. Once this was over, Robin was coming back to Gotham if he had to drag the boy kicking and screaming the whole way...


	3. Chapter 3

PART 3

Twenty-Four hours later, the break finally came. While keeping tabs on Robin during some kind of training exercise, he received a call from J'Onn, requesting his presence up at the Watchtower.

"What have you got?" he asked, joining the Martian in one of the labs.

"This technology is nothing short of amazing," J'Onn answered, his gaze locked on the screen in front of him.

"Did you find a cure?" Batman asked, a touch of impatience in his voice.

"There is no cure," J'Onn replied. "There only way to get rid of these things is to destroy the source. I was, however, able to come up with something that will counter the effects."

He pressed a button and a tray with four small vials filled with blue liquid slid out. "Inject the Titans with that. If the probes are activated, it should delay the effects, hopefully, long enough to destroy the source."

Batman nodded, putting the vials safely in his belt. "Thank you, J'Onn," he murmured as he turned to leave.

He paused in the doorway as J'Onn asked, "Are you sure you don't wish to involve the others in this?"

"Positive. Your involvement is more than enough. Thank you again." He swept from the room, heading quickly for the hanger. At last, it was time to strike.

END SCENE

Robin was in the middle of a meditation exercise when a huge explosion rocked the building, drawing a startled gasp from him. "Robin, find out what that was," Slade ordered over his comm link.

"I'm on it," Robin replied, jumping to his feet and running from the room. He rushed into the main room and skidded to a dead stop, surprise and fear filling him.

"The Titans," Slade murmured in his ear, his tone causing Robin to shiver.

"I'll handle this," he whispered, swinging into the rafters before the team spotted him.

"See that you do. I would hate to have to push that button."

'Yeah right,' Robin thought, then shouted, "Titans!" staying in the rafters so they couldn't see him.

"Robin!" Starfire cried, her gaze searching the room. "Please, we need to speak with you!"

"You shouldn't have come here! You have no idea..."

"Dude!" Beast Boy shouted, "We know!"

Robin paused in his movements through the rafters, his heart jumping a little more. "What?"

"We know about the nanomachines," Raven replied and Robin drew in a sharp breath, eyes widening.

He dropped down on a pile of crates so they could see him, aware of the androids gathering in the shadows. "Then you coming here was even stupider!" he growled coldly.

"Robin, how could we not come?" Starfire said and Robin was starting to wonder where Slade's commentary was when Cyborg's next statement filled him with rage.

"We don't care what he did to us man! We just want..."

"You don't care? You don't care?" he repeated. "I care, you bastard! I care!" he screamed. "I am not going to watch him kill you! Not after what I've been through! And if you get past me, he will kill you!" He palmed some min grenades and added, "Which means I can't let you get through me."

Without giving the startled teens a chance to respond, he shouted, "Attack!" threw the grenades and launched himself into the fight.

END SCENE

Slade was in another part of the building, working on his project when the explosion occurred. 'Hmm, we're either under attack or one of the droids blew something up again,' he thought in annoyance. Moving to a security monitor, he frowned when he discovered it had been knocked out. Pressing his comm link, he murmured, "Robin, find out what that was."

"I'm on it," came the immediate response.

Slade quickly went to work in bringing the backup security online and when the images of his guests filled the screens, a smile crept across his lips. "The Titans," he murmured, aware that the comm link was still open.

"I'll handle this," Robin whispered and Slade heard the tremor in the boy's voice.

"See that you do," he answered, putting a threat in his tone. "I would hate to have to push that button."

No sooner had he said that than the monitor he was watching shattered, followed quickly by a cut in communications. "Slade!" a voice growled and he spun around, watching as a demonic form detached itself from the shadows.

A smile crept across Slade's lips, replacing his surprise. "Well now, isn't this a pleasant surprise. I can't tell you how much of a pleasure it is to meet you, Batman."

"You kidnaped my son, Slade," Batman snarled. "Turned him into a criminal...forced him to hurt his team. The only pleasure that's about to be had will be mine as I rip your throat out."

"Come now, Batman," Slade purred, "There's no need for violence. You've obviously been watching...I would think you'd be pleased with what I've done with him. He's so much more focused...efficient. And I haven't even begun to tap his true potential."

"And what's that?" Batman growled as the pair began to circle each other, "Assassin? Did you plan to make him kill for you?"

"Up to him, but I'm fairly certain he'll slip into it in his own time." Slade's smirk was visible in his voice. "Though I wasn't expecting that to occur for some time. However, bringing the Titans here tonight may accelerate that theory."

The time for talk was over. In a sudden flurry of movement, Batman attacked and Slade met him head on. The pair fought viciously, neither willing to surrender Robin to the other and it wasn't long into the fight that Slade began to see why this man was so feared and where Robin got his spirit from. The Bat's skill was perfect and deadly...everything Slade had hoped to mold Robin into.

The man had more determination than Slade had ever seen before which, as the fight progressed, began to turn into a problem. He felt something crack and pain explode through his arm as he was thrown into a concrete pillar. He ducked just in time to avoid a kick to his head, but wasn't able to avoid the blow to his stomach.

It was entirely possible he wasn't going to win this, he realized as he rolled away and came to his feet, throwing several explosives at the Bat, who disappeared somewhere in the smoke. Well, it was time to fight dirty. The remote to trigger the nanomachines appeared in his hand and he shouted, "Enough!"

When no attack came, he said, "I won't insult you by believing you have no idea what I've done to the Titans. Therefore, you know what will happen when I press this button."

A low laugh came from somewhere on his right. "Go ahead," Batman hissed, now somewhere on the left. "It's not the Titans I'm concerned about right now."

Slade narrowed his eyes. The Bat was up to something. Either he had already pulled something off right under Slade's nose or he was bluffing.

"You've lost, Slade," came the growl from somewhere behind him now. "With any other choice, it might have worked. But you lost the second you set your sick mind on my son."

The remote suddenly exploded in his hand, prompting a cry of pain from Slade, who clutched his hand and spun back around in time to receive a devastating blow to his head. He fell to the floor, stunned and struggling to regain his senses. Cold air caressed his face and he wondered about that for a few seconds before his eyes widened in realization and his hand flew to his bare face.

Scrambling to his feet, a little woozy from the head trauma, he spotted his broken mask on the floor and Batman coming straight at him like something out of hell. Thinking quickly, he pressed a button and several of his drones appeared from nowhere, intercepting the Bat. Knowing it wouldn't take him long to go through them, Slade turned and fled, disappearing into the darkness and the hidden escape route. He had been defeated, for the time being at least. He would go to ground and recover, then come back for Robin with a plan for the Bat. But for now, Batman could have him.

END SCENE

The broken bodies of drones littered the floor, making maneuvering a little difficult but doing nothing to slow the Boy Wonder down. The drones didn't matter. All that mattered was defeating the Titans and finding out where Slade had gotten to. There had been no communication from him for some time now, which concerned him for he didn't know what that meant. He had to defeat the foursome fast and find his master. He was pretty sure he could convince him to abandon this lair for another and avoid killing his friends.

His former friends, he reminded himself. Despite the fact that they knew about the probes, it was too late. He belonged to Slade now. If they had found out earlier, maybe they would have had a chance, but not now. Slade possessed too much of his mind for him to openly rebel and side with the Titans.

So he fought. He fought more viciously than he ever had before...to defeat them for their own good, ignoring their pleas to stop...their attempts to reason with him. Why didn't they understand? They helped bring this down with their belief that he would ever willingly betray them...

Just as he was about to deliver a devastating blow to Cyborg, a familiar voice rang out, sharp and commanding and demanding obedience. "Enough!"

Instantly, the fighting stopped and all eyes turned to the nearby entrance to the room, watching as something sailed out of the shadows, landing near Robin's feet. Robin drew in a sharp breath when he saw what the object was. It was Slade's mask...broken.

"It's over, Robin. Stand down."

His eyes snapped up to the entrance and he watched the last person he ever expected to see step into the dim light. "B...Batman?" he whispered, taking a step back.

"We contacted him after you broke into the Tower," Cyborg said from behind him and Robin quickly maneuvered himself so he could see both parties. His mind was going a mile a minute, his gaze moving from Batman to the broken mask as he tried to work the situation out.

"You...You're saying Slade's gone?" he asked quietly, raising his gaze to watch Batman's nod. His gaze moved back to the mask, hand clenching and unclenching. Slade was gone, just like that. No, it was far to easy...it just couldn't be that simple. This was Slade after all...

Ah...Robin understood now...this was a test. Slade was testing him to see what he would do in a situation like this. The Titans were probably holograms and Batman was probably one of Slade's droids. A grim smile touched his lips. He wasn't going to fall for it. He was going to pass this test and please his master...

With a savage scream, Robin attacked, drawing a startled exclamation from Starfire. He dimly heard Cyborg say something about letting the Bat handle it before throwing all his concentration into the fight.

The droid was an amazingly realistic version of Batman. Slade must have studied him carefully at some point in order to program the droid so well. If Robin didn't know better, he's have thought he was fighting the real thing. Hell, he even had the scent down!

The fight lasted all of eight minutes before Robin was slammed into a wall and rather effectively pinned. "Dick Grayson!" his opponent hissed and Robin froze at the use of his real name.

Before he could say anything, 'Batman' was whispering in his ear. "When you were ten, you got a snow racer for Christmas. When it was time to come in, you begged Alfred for one last ride. He gave in and you ended up crashing it and getting buried in the snow. You were sick with a cold for a month."

There was a quick pause and then, "Every April Fools, you try to pull one over on Alfred and he never falls for it."

Robin's eyes had grown impossibly wide. There was no way Slade could have known all that. His real name...possibly, but not the other stuff. Oh God...

He relaxed his body in a signal of surrender and Batman released him, stepping back to give him some room. Robin slowly turned and looked up at the Dark Knight...the real Dark Knight...his father...almost certain he was dreaming now. Tears were gathering in his eyes. If this was a dream, he didn't think he'd be able to handle it.

"Robin?"

He looked over to where the Titans stood and watched Starfire, tears slipping down her own cheeks, take a step toward him. "It's over, Robin," she whispered. "We finally have you back."

That was about all he could take as reality slammed into him. Slade was gone, he was free and the Titans were safe. He dropped down to his hands and knees with a sob and, as he began to cry in earnest, Batman knelt down next to him, wrapping his cape around him and hiding him from view. From where the Titans stood, they could hear soft murmuring but could not make out what was being said. They looked at each other, then Cyborg turned and set to work on locating the source of the nanomachines so he could destroy it.

Three Nights later:

"The Titans are yours, Cyborg. I know you'll lead them well," a somber Robin said to a stricken group of teens.

The group was currently gathered on the roof of Titans Tower, Batman waiting patiently next to the Batwing while Robin said his goodbye. The boy had surprised his mentor on the issue of returning to Gotham by actually requesting to go back. The night they had rescued him from Slade, they had returned to the Tower where Robin had dropped into an exhausted sleep, Batman never once leaving the room. The request to return to Gotham had been the first thing Robin had said the first few times he had woken up and he hadn't changed his mind up until this point.

"Robin...dude, you don't have to leave us!" Beast Boy said for what must have been the millionth time since learning what Robin had planned.

"Yes, I do Beast Boy," Robin replied for what also must have been the millionth time. "I need to go home...be with my family."

"But you are home and we are your family!" a tearful Starfire protested.

Robin turned his gaze to her and the pain in his heart worsened. "No, Starfire," he replied quietly, refusing to let the tears he knew were gathering fall. "I'm not home and I haven't been for a while. Slade he...he really did a number on my mind. I can't recover here...I need to be with my father, back where things make sense. Please...try to understand."

His gaze moved over the others and he added, "I'll...I'll keep in touch." He turned to head for the Batwing, stopping when Starfire said quietly, "I never thought you were a coward, Robin."

He knew what she was doing and it wasn't going to work. Without looking back, he said, "Goodbye Star," and continued on toward the plane.

"Robin!" Starfire started toward him but was stopped by Cyborg's hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go, Star," he murmured. "Like he said, he needs to be with his family right now."

"But we are his family," Starfire repeated her earlier statement, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"The family that betrayed him by believing he would actually betray us," Raven stated, which made a sob escape from Starfire as she turned and buried her face in Cyborg's chest.

Robin heard her crying, but didn't turn back. Instead, he went straight up to the plane and moved to get in, pausing at Batman's quiet, "Are you sure?"

Robin nodded and got in, not trusting himself to speak right then and a few seconds later, Batman started the engine and the cockpit down slid closed. A moment after that, they were airborne and, only when Robin knew they were far enough away that they would not see the tears sliding down his cheeks, did he look back and watch them fade away into the night.

When they were out of sight, he faced forward again, silently slipping out one of the magic pills he had secreted away and taking it almost without thought. In minutes, the terrible pain in his heart and soul began to ease...

End


End file.
